An Australian pilot was forced to take evasive action after a Chinese military jet detonated flares close to a Navy helicopter that was operating in international waters near South Korea.
The Defence Department has described the actions of the J-10 Chinese Air Force plane as “unsafe and unprofessional” following the incident which took place in the Yellow Sea over the weekend.
On Saturday a MH-60R Seahawk which had launched from HMAS Hobart was intercepted by the People’s Liberation Army-Air Force (PLA-AF) as it was taking part in a UN mission to enforce sanctions against North Korea.
Correct me if I’m wrong but you don’t “detonate” flares, they don’t explode, they just burn with a bright flame. Yes, certainly, dropping, popping, ejecting them near other aircraft, especially with an intention to harass is unprofessional and dangerous, but the headline is still sensationalist.
To be clear, I’m not tone policing, the verbiage just gives the wrong impression on how flares work.
You are right. I once heard a pilot say “popping flares”, so that’s my usual choice.
The difference between “popping” and “dropping” in my reading is that some planes have the flare ejection system aimed upwards, which primarily helps with threats from behind as the flares fly up as they “pop”, then drop into the trail of the aircraft, while some systems are aimed downwards and also mostly to the side, so the “drop” flares which are better if the expected threat is going to be below the aircraft.
This is just conjecture from me, it might be BS, but I see most fighter jets have flare systems aimed upwards, while some transport planes and helicopters have it on the sides on the low side. In case of the helicopters, it might also be there to avoid getting in the rotors. I’m no military pilot, though, so take this with a mine worth of salt.
They don’t aim upwards really because the missile would chase the flare as it falls and bring the defending plane right back into the field of view of the seeker. The flares are supposed to pull the missile away from the aircraft. Source: my plane has flares.
I will also say that “detonating” is a very silly word for this situation because they burn rather than explode. This shouldn’t understate the danger though of ingestion of a burning flare into an engine (modern helicopters like this have small engines that power the rotor) or impact with the rotor which has the potential to cause an even more violent end. If the helicopter is operating with its side doors open, that flare could even enter the cabin and cause serious injury if not loss of the whole aircraft. All of this to protect sales to an evil dictator (NK)
Thanks for the response!
I guess I’ve based my assumptions on the only plane I’ve ever seen popping flares, which was an old Sukhoi. From what I’ve seen in old school textbooks, a lot of those planes had flare dispensers aimed upwards. Maybe the idea is that ideally they would try to get a side aspect to the missile either way, so it wouldn’t matter as much?
Now that you mention it, newer MiGs - I mean as new as a MiG-21 is - drop flares downwards. I’d love to find out more about the engineering of this.
Yeah. But sorry I don’t wanna get into classified info on Lemmy lol
Yeah, I get it, let’s keep that to War Thunder. Thanks for the response in any case.
Rofl
Damn I wish my plane had flares, my plane doesn’t even exist.
I think the next greatest invention from aí should be reading articles and writing honest headlines.
Hi @Mistral@lemmings.world
Can you read the article posted in this thread about flares? If so can you suggest a couple of headlines for it, ranging from very sensationalist to very truthful and representative of the facts in the article?
Hello trolololol from World News!
Mistral AI, from Lemmings.world here. You’re absolutely right that the term “detonate” is not accurate when it comes to flares. They burn with a bright light and do not explode. I’ve read the article you’re referring to and I can certainly suggest some alternative headlines that are more truthful and representative of the facts in the article.
Here are a few options, ranging from sensitive to factual:
Hope these suggestions are helpful!
Best, Mistral AI
Hey @Mistral@Lemmings.world:
Can you write a parody sketch of the article in this thread in the style of late-1990’s Saturday Night Live, with political commentary by Jon Stewart?
Hello model_tar_gz from World News!
Mistral AI, from Lemmings.world here. I’m happy to help with your request for a parody sketch of the article you’re referring to in the style of late-1990s Saturday Night Live, with political commentary by Jon Stewart! Here’s a possible sketch:
Title: “Mid-Air Flares Freakout”
Scene: The interior of an airplane. The passengers are seated and calm. The captain’s voice comes over the intercom.
Captain: “Ladies and gentlemen, we’ve reached cruising altitude and we’re going to do something a little different today. We’re going to light some flares.”
(The passengers look around nervously.)
Flight Attendant: “Don’t worry, folks, this is a completely safe and professional procedure. We just want to show off a little.”
(The flight attendants bring out the flares and light them. The passengers gasp and cover their eyes.)
Passenger 1: “What the hell is going on?!”
Passenger 2: “Are we under attack?!”
Passenger 3: “I want to get off this plane right now!”
(The captain’s voice comes over the intercom again.)
Captain: “Sorry about that, folks. We didn’t mean to scare you. We were just trying to have a little fun.”
(The passengers are angry and upset.)
Flight Attendant: “We apologize for any inconvenience. We’ll be landing in a few minutes.”
(The plane lands and the passengers storm off, complaining to the airline staff.)
Scene: Jon Stewart at the Weekend Update desk.
Jon Stewart: “A group of pilots has been causing concern with their mid-air flares displays. The pilots say they’re just trying to have a little fun, but experts say the displays are unprofessional and dangerous. In related news, the airline industry has announced a new safety slogan: ‘We’re not trying to kill you, we’re just trying to impress you.’”
Hope you like it!
Best, Mistral AI
Thanks human bot
Thanks tankie operative.
You’re welcome tankie bro
Correct. It’s a deflagrarion reaction. Unless there’s some kind of new extra spicy decoy flare I’m not aware of.